Around the Web: A Month in Summary

A recent article from Divestopedia entitled “To Sell Your Business, Start with the End in Mind” explains the importance of planning your exit strategy in the early stages of your business. The article points out that emotion plays a big part in humans’ decision making process, and when a potential buyer perceives that the owner has not prepared a company for sale, they associate this with uncertainty, effort and stress that will accompany rebuilding the business.

Focusing on building your company’s culture is also very important for exit planning because a well-established company culture will continue to endure after you’re gone. Creating a self-sustaining culture that involves talented employees, succession plans for key people, talent acquisition and talent retention can help your business be seen as more valuable in the future.

A recent article posted on BizJournals.com entitled “How to know when the ride is over and it’s time to get off” gives an overview of how to know when to exit your business and how to be prepared when the time is right. Here are 4 signs that it might be time to sell your business:

Your health is declining or your business is negatively affecting your health

You’ve lost your passion for the business

Your priorities have changed and the business is no longer your top priority

You are hesitant or unable to invest money in the growth of your business

Business owners should periodically review these factors and ask themselves if they are still the right person for the job. It’s also good to consult with a trusted advisor to start planning an exit strategy now so you’re prepared when the time comes to sell all or part of your business.

A recent article posted on Forbes.com entitled “Business Value And Lottery Tickets” explains how you have to be realistic about your goals for your business especially in how they relate to your exit plan in the future. Take a look at how your business is doing and then quantify your goals for your business by asking yourself questions such as “How much money do I need to have when I leave my business?”

Next, you need to figure out a plan for your business to grow enough to reach those goals. The article states three common problems that owners have in this situation:

Relying on assumptions instead of consulting with an exit-planning advisor

Trying to do everything instead of delegating

Remaining stagnant instead of taking on new roles to ignite change in the business

It is also important to have a good management team in place to help you achieve your goals. It’s not luck, and you have to look at the numbers and facts to get your business where you need it to be for a successful exit.

A recent article from the Axial Forum entitled “How to Handle Risky Customer Concentration in an M&A Target” explains the best practices to follow if a potential acquisition has a lot of customer concentration. In many companies, it’s common for 20% of customers to account for 80% of the company’s revenue. In this case, it is vital to talk to multiple people within these important accounts and ask a variety of questions to make sure you find out how their relationship with the company is really structured.

Most importantly, you want to ask the contact how likely they would be to recommend the target company to another colleague, which in turn will help you determine the Net Promoter Score (NPS) rating of the company. The NPS is very useful because it has statistically shown that higher rated companies are more profitable, outpace their competitors, and have stronger cross-selling opportunities.

It’s a good practice to look deeper into a company’s relationships with its customers when acquiring a business that you’ll want to eventually grow.

A recent article posted on The Standard entitled “Do you have a business you are eyeing? Consider these tips before taking the leap” explores a variety of factors to take into consideration before buying a business. Here are some things to think about when making the decision to buy:

Evaluate yourself and make sure you have the skills to take on the specific type of business

Find out why the business is being sold

Carry out due diligence in screening the business so there’s no surprises along the way

Obtain a professional valuation of the business

Close the deal and consider using a legal officer for the final process

Always be sure to find out the good and the bad before you decide to purchase a business.

Meeting Notice

The GABB usually meets on the last Tuesday of every month.

Upcoming GABB Meeting Dates

2018 Meeting Dates:

Nov. 27.

The monthly meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. and is preceded at 9:45 a.m. by a free light breakfast and networking session. There is networking with coffee and pastries from about 9:45 to 10:30 and the meeting will last from about 10:30 to somewhere between 11:30 and noon.

Our meetings begin with guest and member introductions of name, company and what you do, not a networking or elevator minute. After introductions, we have about a 30-minute presentation by either a panel or a speaker and then some time for questions. After the presentation we’ll have a few items of association business and then adjourn the meeting.

The GAR headquarters building is a two-story building located in Sandy Springs near the intersection of Hammond Drive and Barfield Road.

Traveling South on 400
Exit at Hammond Drive (Exit #4C), and turn right. At the first light (approximately .25 mile), turn right onto Barfield Road. The GAR building is the third building on the right.

Traveling North on 400
Exit at Glenridge Drive (Exit #4A), and use the right 2 lanes to turn slightly right onto the Glenridge Connector. Travel approximately 1.3 miles and turn right onto Hammond Drive. Travel approximately .25 mile and turn left on Barfield Road. The GAR building is the third building on the right.

Traveling West on I-285
Exit at Peachtree Dunwoody Road (Exit #28) and turn right. Travel approximately .3 mile to Hammond Drive and turn left. Travel approximately .5 mile (you will cross over GA 400), and turn right onto Barfield Road. The GAR building is the third building on the right.

Traveling East on I-285
Exit at Glenridge Connector (Exit #26) in Sandy Springs and turn left. Travel approximately .4 mile to Hammond Drive and turn right. Travel approximately .5 mile, and turn left onto Barfield Road. The GAR building is the third building on the right.

For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President Mike Ramatowski at RamBizGroup@bellsouth.net or call him at 770-634-0428; or contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com .